Louise Thompson reveals pregnancy impacted her relationship with Ryan Libbey and she ‘didn’t want to be intimate with him’

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Louise Thompson has shared insights on how her pregnancy affected her bond with her partner, Ryan Libbey.

Previously known as a cast member on Made In Chelsea, now aged 35, nearly lost her life during childbirth of her son Leo, requiring a month-long stay in intensive care due to severe complications. Subsequently, she spent numerous years being admitted and discharged from hospitals, before enduring a heartbreaking miscarriage.

Now, Louise has shared insights into the journey she and Ryan took through their relationship prior to Louise’s difficult childbirth experience.

During an appearance on The RISE with Roxie Nafousi podcast on Monday, Louise openly discussed her feelings of unattractiveness during pregnancy and her growing distance from her partner Ryan, explaining that she had lost interest in intimacy with him.

Louise candidly shared on The RISE with Roxie Nafousi podcast on Monday that she struggled with feelings of unattractiveness during her pregnancy and found herself pulling away from her partner Ryan, as she no longer felt inclined towards intimacy with him.

Apart from that, she admitted that prior to pregnancy, her life revolved solely around health and fitness. However, during pregnancy, she found herself depleted of energy, unable to maintain the same pace as Ryan. This shift in vitality led to a sense of distance between them.

Louise stated that the incident had a significant impact on their relationship, causing them to completely avoid intimacy. She shared her feelings that she no longer desired intimacy with him.

During the third trimester, I felt he wasn’t interested in getting close to me. At the moment, I didn’t analyze this much, but looking back, it might have contributed to my feelings of discomfort.

During her pregnancy, she mentioned that she and Ryan gradually drifted apart, particularly from the midpoint onwards.

Feeling extremely cramped and overwhelmed with the pregnancy, I couldn’t help but feel less attractive. Additionally, since my self-image has been tied closely to fitness, transitioning from daily workouts to feeling exhausted and sluggish was particularly tough. Prior to pregnancy, I had boundless energy and could handle long days, starting as early as five in the morning and going to bed around 11 pm. Now, however, I find myself struggling with low energy levels.

The energy level dropped dramatically, leaving me unable to jump any further. Previously, I would use jumping as a means for extensive cardiovascular exercise, but now I found myself completely drained and stationary.

Feeling rather detached, I found myself estranged not just from Ryan, my partner in our substantial fitness endeavor, but also from the community we’d nurtured together. Despite having a thriving fitness business, I was unable to engage as enthusiastically as I desired.

In conversation about the impact of her difficult birth, Louise confessed that she, Ryan, and their child had challenges forming a strong bond.

She said that our group wasn’t truly a family. In fact, she couldn’t recall any enjoyable family moments we had together. She didn’t consider us a family, but instead was unsure about what we actually were.

‘There were three individuals, each caring for infants who couldn’t help themselves. Our situation wasn’t ideal as I was essentially detached from reality, lost in my thoughts.’

Regarding the initial phase of her motherhood journey, Louise shared: ‘Leo, our son, and I lacked a structured schedule. It seems that Ryan attempted to establish a daily rhythm for him.’

During that period, I would only keep him with me for about a minute at a time. My regular schedule consisted of medical appointments, and it was these appointments that gave me something to cling to.

For several days, my schedule was jam-packed with either NHS or private healthcare appointments one after another. A glance at my calendar from that period would reveal only mental health appointments, one leading into the next, helping me survive each day.

It seemed like the crisis team would provide the necessary support to help me navigate through this period until I could begin thinking clearly again.

Following Louise’s emotional outburst due to concern that her son Leo might feel lonely lacking siblings, as she had previously made a promise not to bear any more children to expand her family.

On their “He Said She Said” podcast, fiancé Ryan Libbey, Louise got emotional when observing their 3-year-old son, Leo, seemingly communicating with someone she thought was an imaginary friend.

With tears in her eyes, she reminisced about the time she remarked: ‘Leo leaned his bicycle casually against a wall, chatting away as though conversing with an invisible companion. This endearing behavior won my heart over entirely.’

One possible reason it’s making me tear up could be that I briefly wondered if he has no siblings.

In the attempt to console an anxious Louise, who was concerned about being a first-time mom, Ryan learned that she perceived Leo’s behavior as unusual. However, later on, a fan informed her that a child possessing an imaginary friend often indicates a sign of intelligence.

She shared a TikTok video of Leo conversing with himself, commenting: ‘A follower of mine mentioned that having an imaginary friend as a child might indicate higher intelligence.’

Her kindness was truly heartwarming, given the anxiety she must have felt as a first-time mom, especially since we haven’t been able to expand our family by giving Leo a sibling.”

In this version, I tried to maintain the original sentiment while using more straightforward language and eliminating some repetition. The phrase “navigating this whole world” was replaced with “expanding our family,” and “anxious” was used instead of “really kind of her because,” which can be a bit awkward in this context.

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2025-09-08 17:07